Most Of All You by Mia Sheridan

Crystal learned long ago that love brings only pain. Feeling nothing at all is far better than being hurt again. She guards her wounded heart behind a hard exterior and carries within her a deep mistrust of men, who, in her experience, have only ever used and taken.

A man in need of help . . .

Then Gabriel Dalton walks into her life. Despite the terrible darkness of his past, there's an undeniable goodness in him. And even though she knows the cost, Crystal finds herself drawn to Gabriel. His quiet strength is wearing down her defenses and his gentle patience is causing her to question everything she thought she knew.

Only love can mend a shattered heart . . .

Crystal and Gabriel never imagined that the world, which had stolen everything from them, would bring them a deep love like this. Except fate will only take them so far, and now the choice is theirs: Harden their hearts once again or find the courage to shed their painful pasts.

Therapy can come in the oddest forms, according to Mia Sheridan. And from there, when given enough time, come affection and desire, in the shape of a hardened, cynical stripper who distances herself from her clients and a gentle, sensitive artist who has suffered his own form of childhood abuse.

‘Most of All You’ is a poignant read that deals with two protagonists damaged in very different ways and how the glue to piecing themselves back together isn’t just the quick and shallow version of sex but a connection that happens first in the strangest of places.

There’s also a bit of a role-reversal here as Gabriel—the more open, tenderhearted one—tries to break down those walls that Ellie has built and it’s a refreshing change as masculinity isn’t seen here in the form of a posturing Alpha-male but as a gentle but unrelenting wave of affection that washes away resistance. It’s Gabriel who’s the crutch for Ellie—whose self-loathing didn’t seem like it could be overcome—nonetheless and it’s as though ‘Most of All You’ champions not the man who shouts the loudest or speaks the dirtiest, but the man who paces his approach and uses patience to triumph.

Sheridan’s storytelling is slow, as it lingers over a myriad of emotions, draws out the drama and takes apart each character’s state of mind, but it’ll certainly appeal to many who prefer a feel-good and emotional read with a strong thread of idealism that can’t be shaken off. The cynic in me stays a little sceptical, but definitely recognises that this sheen—lacking in romance these days—is something Sheridan recaptures here.